Air Force (3-2-1, 1-1 AHC) at Army West Point (3-2-1, 3-1 AHC)
Face-offs: Friday at 5 p.m. MDT and Saturday at 6 p.m. MDT.
Radio: 1300 AM and streamed on GoAirForceFalcons.com
The Falcons head into this series after a weekend off. They have split their past two series after winning the season-opening Ice Breaker Tournament at Denver. Air Force is unbeaten in its past 10 games against Army (7-0-3) and leads the overall series by a healthy margin (37-20-6).
Army’s formula is simple: Get an early lead and clamp down on defense. The Black Knights feature one of the nation’s best penalty kills, and senior goalie Parker Gahagen has been lights out thus far, sitting among the top four goalies in Division I statistically.
With that in mind, here’s a closer look at some of the match-ups in the series.
Offense
There are moments Air Force establishes its pressure when it’s offense in general and transition game in particular are pretty good. Game-to-game consistency has been the problem. The Falcons average 2.83 goals per game (tied for 34th in Division I), and defenseman Phil Boje and forward Matt Serratore lead the way with six points apiece. Forward Ben Kucera leads with three goals, two on the power play. Center Tyler Ledford, like Boje and Serratore, has four assists. …
The Black Knights have just two players – forwards Connor Andrie (four goals) and Clint Carlisle (two goals) – with as many as four points. Army’s offense averages a half goal per game less than AFA (2.33) and it is just 47th nationally in that category.
Defense
This has been Army’s strong suit. The Black Knights allow just 1.33 goals per game (third in D-I), and Gahagen has been a big reason why. Not only has the senior played every minute so far, but his 1.32 goals-against is fourth in the nation and best among goalies who have played as many games as he has. His .955 save percentage is also fourth best. ..
After a strong start in this department the Falcons have struggled recently, allowing 13 goals in the past three games. Overall, they’ve allowed 3.33 per game (tied for 36th). Sophomore Shane Starrett has been good again, though his numbers are off a bit from last season. His 3-1-1 record includes a .925 save percentage (18th in the nation) and a 2.58 goals-against average
Special teams
Neither team has fared well with the man advantage, and both are two of the best at killing penalties, though the Falcons have struggled a bit more here in the past three games (killing 15 of 20, or 75 percent) after killing off the first 16 penalties they took. Overall, AFA sits at 89.3 percent, 11th-best in D-I. Army has killed off 40 of 43 penalties (93 percent) with is seventh best. Good thing, too, because the Black Knights are one of the most penalized teams in the nation, taking more than 18 minutes per game.
Air Force is slightly better (13.9 percent on 36 tries) on the power play, compared to Army’s 12.5 percent rate on 40 chances.
Intangibles
The Falcons are one of the nation’s top face-off teams, winning 56.4 percent in the circle. … Discipline is key for Air Force, which is one of D-I’s least penalized teams while Army is among the most. … The Black Knights are one of the taller teams in Division I, with eight players measuring 6-foot-2 or taller and seven checking in at north of 200 pounds. Air Force has just two players listed at 200 pounds and five at 6-2 or taller.
